What’s clear from this and other research in Gorongosa National Park is that vultures are critical members of this recovering ecosystem, and their relative success here has surely played a role in the overall resilience of the park. Gorongosa, in turn, may be just as critical to the survival of this, the most rapidly declining bird group in the world. Not only does the park provide key nesting habitat, food sources, and safety from persecution, but it’s helping scientists understand the risks vultures face beyond the park’s borders.

Although there’s little that scientists and wildlife managers working in Gorongosa can do to eliminate the threats that any one bird might face outside the protections of the park, the information they gather can be used to inform international agreements around the availability of toxins and other hazards. It also highlights the need to manage ecosystems like those in Gorongosa to benefit not only the charismatic megafauna tourists come to see but the oft-overlooked scavenger, too.

Biologist Teague Scott from the Intermountain Bird Observatory carries a recently captured young white-backed vulture, Gyps africanus, back to the measuring station.